1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to electrosurgical scissors. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a bipolar scissors for adenoid and tonsil removal.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical scissors are commonly used in many surgical procedures for cutting tissue that is vascularized, i.e. contains blood or other vessels. The resultant bleeding or other fluid loss that occurs is not only of concern from the standpoint of fluid loss, but blood may also obscure the surgical field or site. Controlling such fluid loss and bleeding has, in the past, required significant time and attention of the surgeon during many procedures.
Scissors that use radiofrequency (RF) energy in a manner such that the tissue is heated as it is cut, thus promoting immediate hemostasis, have been used for many years to control such bleeding or other fluid loss. Early electric surgical scissors used monopolar RF power, where the scissors constituted one electrode and the patient rested on the other electrode (which was typically in the form of a conductive mat) to complete the circuit. Current flowed generally through the patient between the electrodes due to the voltage applied across the electrodes by an RF power supply. The uncertainty of the path of current flow through the body and possible unintentional harm to other tissues, however, encouraged further development in electrosurgical scissors.
Recently, efforts have been made to develop electrosurgical scissors, as illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,324,289 and 5,330,471, in which one blade includes one electrode and the other blade includes or functions as the other electrode, so the current flows between the blades as they cut the desired tissue.
More recently, electrosurgical scissors have been provided in which each cutting blade itself includes two electrodes for connection to a RF power supply. The tissue contacting surfaces of at least one, and typically both, include two spaced apart electrodes that extend along the tissue contacting surface and are connectable to a voltage supply for applying a voltage between the electrodes of each blade. As a result, current flows between the first and second electrodes of each blade to promote hemostasis in the tissue as the blade is moved into contact with the tissue, such as during the cutting action. Such scissors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,179,837 and 5,766,166. Another example of electrosurgical scissors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,685.
In certain applications, such as, for example, removal of adenoid or tonsils, it is desirable to be able to control the application of current across the tissue so as to control the timing of the hemostasis as the tissues are cut. Polyps are abnormal tissue growths generally projecting away from mucosal tissues. Tonsils are naturally occurring lymphatic structures in the pharynx that often need to be removed due to recurrent infection or airway occlusion. Often, they need to be removed by cutting them away from the underlying tissue and cauterizing the tissue to prevent unnecessary bleeding. In certain instances, it is desirable to cauterize them and initiate hemostasis during the initial cutting, suspend hemostasis as the tissue is being cut, and resume hemostasis towards the end of the excising procedure.